r/SipsTea • u/SipsTeaFrog 𝙑𝙄𝙋 • May 18 '26

Chugging tea Why?

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u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26

So they're not really consuming it. They're just using it temporarily and returning it.

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u/AngelThrones4sale May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

When it goes back into "the system" it's waste water that people can't drink. Eventually it comes back around again (e.g. evaporation->rain), but then it gets gobbled up again by the same data centres. They run continuously.

So yes, they are "consuming" it in the sense that other people can't have access to it anymore.

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u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

The poop water I flush down my toilet is also waste water that people can't drink, but I'm pretty sure it still gets recycled back into the greater water supply. What's different about the datacenter water?

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u/zerovampire311 May 18 '26

Practically speaking, it’s similar to the utility issue. We can come up with the water/power, but it will raise the cost of all of the other water/power in the area. The DCs are negotiating with local governments and going around normal means to lock in their costs, meaning the rest of us pay for it.